The massive force behind the impact of a trucking accident is much more deadly than crashes with passenger vehicles. The injuries sustained in crashes with commercial trucks are often catastrophic and are responsible for more than 4,500 deaths each year.

 

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The dedicated Virginia truck accident attorneys from Shapiro & Appleton have successfully advocated for countless numbers of truck accident victims and their families, getting them the financial compensation they deserved for the horrific losses their injuries have caused. The following are some of the most common injuries suffered by victims in truck accidents.

Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord carries messages from the brain to the rest of the body, enabling movement. The impact of a commercial truck slamming into a vehicle often damages the spinal cord, causing tearing, breaking, and bruising. This can leave the victim suffering from the following conditions:

• Paraplegia: The loss of sensation and movement in the lower half of the body
• Quadriplegia: The loss of sensation and movement in both arms and legs
• Triplegia: Loss of sensation and movement in one arm and both legs

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Victims of truck accidents are also susceptible to traumatic brain injuries. A closed head injury occurs when there is some type of blow to the head, either because an object hits the head or the victim’s head is slammed into an object. An open head injury occurs when an object penetrates the skull and pierces the brain.

Brain injuries can leave a victim struggling with cognitive and emotional abilities. They often have difficulty with concentration, memory, processing information, tolerating light, blurred vision, and forming coherent sentences.

There are three levels of a brain injury that a victim can suffer:

• Mild: The victim loses consciousness, is confused or disorientated for less than 30 minutes.
• Moderate: The victim loses consciousness, is confused or disorientated for 30 minutes to six hours.
• Severe: The victim loses consciousness, is confused or disorientated for more than six hours and suffers permanent damage.

Fractures and Lacerations

The impact of the crash can also cause severe damage to bones. Every bone in the body is at risk, including facial, limbs, ribs, neck, and collarbone. It is not uncommon for the breaks to be so severe that the bone penetrates the skin and victims face multiple surgeries to repair these fractures.

Internal Injuries

Some of the most common – and most deadly – truck accident injuries are organ injuries. This includes the damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, stomach, and spleen. Symptoms of internal injuries are not always evident following a crash, which makes them that much more dangerous and life-threatening.

Crushing

One of the most horrific results of a truck accident is the crushing of victims caused by the huge size of the vehicles involved. The pressure the body is subjected to is often too much and the victim is killed. This pressure causes loss of brain cells, brain damage, compressed nerves, and bone fractures.